Episode 1646
Identity Crisis – TS Wright
Identity Crisis
TS Wright
The central theme of this podcast episode revolves around the alarming identity crisis prevalent within the Christian church, as articulated by Pastor Bob Thibodeau and his guest, Scott Wright. They delve into the ramifications of this crisis, suggesting that a significant number of believers are allowing cultural norms to dictate their identities rather than anchoring themselves in their true identity in Christ. This disorientation, they argue, poses a serious threat to the church's ability to withstand the spiritual and cultural deceptions of the modern world. Wright emphasizes that this crisis is not merely a contemporary issue but a prophetic sign that we may be approaching the end of the church age, as foretold in biblical scripture. The conversation further explores practical steps believers can take to reclaim their true identities, urging a return to the foundational truths of the gospel and a deeper reliance on Christ's authority to navigate the complexities of today's society.
Takeaways:
- Pastor Bob Thibodeau emphasizes the critical nature of understanding one's identity in Christ as essential for believers to navigate the challenges of a rapidly changing cultural landscape.
- Scott Wright articulates that the identity crisis within the church today is being exacerbated by cultural influences that distort biblical truths and undermine spiritual authority.
- The discussion highlights the necessity for believers to reclaim their identity by rejecting cultural definitions and instead embracing the timeless truths found in scripture.
- Both speakers agree that the church's present struggles with identity reflect prophetic warnings about the end times, underscoring the urgency for Christians to return to foundational biblical teachings.
- Wright suggests that fasting and deep engagement with the Gospel are fundamental practices for believers to reinforce their identity and spiritual resilience in a disorienting world.
- The episode concludes with a call to action for Christians to actively resist societal pressures and affirm their identity in Christ, encouraging a return to the authority of biblical truth.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Email: gccgodcenteredconcept2038@gmail.com
Book: “God Centered Concept Journal: Making God’s Word My Ways.” - on Amazon
Podcast: The God Centered Concept
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Transcript
Welcome to the Kingdom Crossroads podcast with Pastor Bob Thibodeau.
Speaker A:Pastor Bob conducts personal interviews with Christian influencers from around the globe, helping Christian authors, recording artists, CEOs, entrepreneurs, non profit leaders, and yes, pastors and ministry leaders to get the word out about what they are doing to impact the world with the gospel.
Speaker A:Our podcast has been rated in the top 1/2% of all podcasts in the world by ListenNotes.com so you know your message will be heard.
Speaker A:Now here is your host with today's interview, Pastor Bob Thibodeau.
Speaker B:Hello, everyone, everywhere.
Speaker B:Pastor Bob Thibodeau here.
Speaker B:Welcome to the Kingdom Crossroads podcast today.
Speaker B:We're so blessed that you're joining us.
Speaker B:What if I told you that much of the church today doesn't actually know who they are and that this identity crisis could be one of the biggest signs that we're nearing the end of the church age?
Speaker B:I mean, if believers don't understand their true identity in Christ, how can they stand firm in a world that's shifting beneath their feet?
Speaker B:My guest today is our good friend Scott Wright, author of the God Centered Concepts and a thought leader on biblical prophecy in the modern church age.
Speaker B:And with deep insight into scripture, Scott has been sounding the alarm on a growing identity crisis in the body of Christ, one that could have profound implications for the end of the church age.
Speaker B:And today we're going to dive into what's really happening and why so many believers seem spiritually disoriented and how all of this ties into biblical prophecy.
Speaker B:Scott, welcome back to the program today, buddy.
Speaker B:So glad you could be here.
Speaker C:Hey, it's great to be here, Bob.
Speaker C:And look forward to another fun, fruitful discussion.
Speaker D:Amen.
Speaker B:Well, many believers today, they seem to struggle with understanding their true identity in Christ.
Speaker B:What are the key signs that the body of Christ is experiencing this identity crisis?
Speaker C:Well, I think number one is that people let the culture define them.
Speaker C:When you let culture define you, that becomes a problem.
Speaker C:Because even throughout history, even if we want to dial it back to even the early church and all that, when we let culture define us, that's where we run into problems.
Speaker C:Paul dealt with this all the time and you can see that in his readings.
Speaker C:Well, it's no different today.
Speaker C:Except the problem is that life, let's just face it, life's just a lot easier and it's a little more easy to get comfortable.
Speaker C:So we say all the time, you know, I tell people when I'm discipling, we're talking through really how we need to walk is that we need to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Speaker C:And the problem is that we allow ourselves with this modern era that we live in, this modern culture, with all the technological advances we have, is we let the comfort dictate everything that we do.
Speaker C:And it seems like technology has become the piece that we allow to define us.
Speaker C:I mean it's, it's always about the next thing.
Speaker C:It really is.
Speaker C:Everything's about the next thing.
Speaker C:It's about having that next best quote, it's about having that next best piece of information.
Speaker C:It's about having that next best tool.
Speaker C:And so that's how life is defined us.
Speaker C:And that seems to change almost every week.
Speaker C:And so people have allowed technology and the comforts of modern day to dictate not only how they live, but who they are.
Speaker C:And so whatever trends and ideologies come out of that which we see those off and on all the time, then what happens is that becomes the definition of people.
Speaker C:That's what they attach their identity to.
Speaker C:The problem is, number one, those things don't stay the same, they change constantly.
Speaker C:And number two is that when we put our faith in something that's of this world, that thing's going to change and eventually become obsolete.
Speaker C:So why in the world would I want to put my identity in something that's eventually going to become obsolete?
Speaker C:But, but that's exactly what people do.
Speaker C:Yeah, I mean, you know, you can probably dial this thing back to the 60s and 70s and remember, you know, the latest fads then people were kind of, that was their identity.
Speaker C:And then the 80s and then the 90s and I mean it's, I, I.
Speaker B:Still have in storage.
Speaker B:I still have my entire eight track collection.
Speaker B:Wait.
Speaker B:Waiting for them.
Speaker C:Great track election.
Speaker B:Waiting for them to make a comeback.
Speaker C:Yeah, don't, hey, don't date yourself there at all.
Speaker C:Eight track.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker C:Yeah, I see that around the horizon, right?
Speaker B:I'm still waiting.
Speaker B:It's been 50 years and I'm still waiting.
Speaker C:But hey, is Elvis still alive?
Speaker B:There's reports that he is.
Speaker C:Oh man.
Speaker B:Jesus gave the church authority.
Speaker B:Many believers, Christians seem to be walking in weakness rather than power.
Speaker B:How has this identity confusion affected the church's ability to stand against cultural and spiritual deception?
Speaker C:Well, first of all, you got to ask yourself, where is those idealisms coming from?
Speaker C:And a lot of it is the way the media has portrayed Christianity over the last 20, 30 years, it's, it's shifted.
Speaker C:And so that's why the church is walking in weakness.
Speaker C:Because it's like it's almost taboo to be a believer Yeah, I mean, it is.
Speaker C:And in, in some, in some parts, even in our country, it seems that way.
Speaker C:No, not in every part.
Speaker C:But there are, you know, there was just, I mean, six months, 12 months ago, I mean, being a believer versus the woke agenda that was going on.
Speaker C:I mean, it was, I mean, you know, everybody knows what that felt like.
Speaker C:And so what I think's happened is, is the church has decided that we're just going to cruise through this.
Speaker C:And if that means we need to fly under the radar and not talk about it and allow ourselves to be pushed around, so to speak, and if we need to adjust this ideology or that ideology to be able to still stay somewhat relative relevant in the culture, that's exactly what's happened.
Speaker C:And it's happened in churches all over the place.
Speaker C:We're seeing it with people who 30 years ago you would have thought were solid believers.
Speaker C:And what's happening is that, and this is just it, they're abandoning the truth, which is exactly what Jesus said would happen.
Speaker C: ,: Speaker C:It's an abandonment from the truth.
Speaker C:And when we allow something else to be true other than what Jesus says is true, then we run into issues.
Speaker C:I mean, these are the type of things that are going to happen.
Speaker C:And you leave yourself open to be swayed by anything else other than Christ.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you know, many churches today, they focus on, it seems like you said, like they're focusing more on social relevance.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:Than the biblical truth.
Speaker B:You know, that elevation of human philosophies over, you know, the red letter words of Jesus, you know, that's contributed to the crisis we see going on today.
Speaker B:I mean, because there's no moral guideposts.
Speaker C:For society anymore and there's no foundations when.
Speaker C:Look, here's the bottom line.
Speaker C:And you and I were talking about it the last time we were talking about the red letters, the, the gospel.
Speaker C:Well, what is the first part of the gospel?
Speaker C:Well, God loves us, but we have a separation and it takes conviction.
Speaker C:That means you being convicted of sin for you to make the gospel relevant.
Speaker C:Well, nobody wants to talk about being convicted of sin.
Speaker C:Well, why in the world did Jesus send the Holy Spirit?
Speaker C:His primary purpose was to convict the world of its sin so it would know it was sinful.
Speaker C:And why it need Jesus so much?
Speaker C:Yeah, you know, it's true.
Speaker C:You make the gospel, Gospel irrelevant when we stop talking about being convicted of sin.
Speaker C:And the foundation of our faith is that, that we are sinful and therefore separated from God.
Speaker C:And therefore we are too in our, in and of ourselves.
Speaker C:We're too weak to reach God, we can't do it.
Speaker C:But Jesus comes and makes us strong and allows us to reach God through him.
Speaker C:That's the gospel.
Speaker C:Because of his shed blood, death and resurrection, that is the gospel.
Speaker C:And that we must surrender to that.
Speaker C:Well, that conviction of sin, that's where it starts.
Speaker B:And a lot of times, you know, it's deception really, because it is.
Speaker B:Think about, think about parents that spoil their kids.
Speaker B:You can't do anything wrong.
Speaker B:Do whatever you want, I'm here for you.
Speaker B:And they do something wrong, you bail them out.
Speaker B:They're not learning from their mistakes.
Speaker B:And throughout scripture we see warnings after warnings after warnings about deception like that in the last days.
Speaker B:How does the church's current identity crisis align with biblical prophecy regarding the end of the church age?
Speaker C:Well, I mean, if you again just go read, you can go no further than reading Revelation chapter 3, 14, 22, and there's Matthew chapter 24, and there's plenty of other places to read stuff.
Speaker C:But just reading those verses, that little passage on the church of Laodicea, really what the lukewarm church is, is a deceived church.
Speaker C:Yeah, it really is.
Speaker C:And he says that if you look at verse 17 and he says, you say that you are rich, have gained great wealth and need nothing.
Speaker C:But I tell you, you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
Speaker C:Therefore buy from me gold refined by fire.
Speaker C:So Jesus is saying, you buy it for me.
Speaker C:Gold equals the truth and you need to refine that by fire so that it will be indwelled in your faith inside of you, in your spirit, which comes from the Holy Spirit.
Speaker C:So you know, you cannot have any of these pieces without first having the truth and acknowled and not only acknowledging, but embracing it.
Speaker C:You have to embrace the truth.
Speaker C:And that truth is the key to be, to not be deceived.
Speaker C:And the problem is, is that every time we dumb it, what we call dumb it down a little bit, that takes us away from the truth and starts to strip our foundation and allows us to be open to be swayed by any other type of ideology that comes along.
Speaker C:I mean, how many people out there, and I'll just say this, and I know several people that are like this, how many Christians like to mix their Christian beliefs with other human self help ideologies?
Speaker C:I mean, we're seeing such a blend of that that you keep stripping the foundation away so much.
Speaker C:I don't even know where the ground is anymore.
Speaker C:Yeah, and there's these people develop their own kind of strange ideologies.
Speaker C:They'll read some self help book by somebody and I'm going to keep people nameless.
Speaker C:I'm not going to name names and stuff, but.
Speaker C:And then they'll take their Christian faith and they'll try to blend it into this self help, psychological, psycho Christianity type of ideology.
Speaker C:But the problem is, is you strip away conviction eventually because you don't want to feel bad.
Speaker C:Well, I'm sorry, conviction makes you feel bad for a reason because it's trying to create change.
Speaker C:Look, if I'm a coach of a team and I've coached for years, you got to sometimes awaken your players to the truth to get them to do what they really want to be able to accomplish what they want to accomplish.
Speaker C:You got to get them to do what needs to be done to accomplish that.
Speaker C:And sometimes they're running in the wrong direction.
Speaker C:You have to correct that.
Speaker C:And you may have to make them feel bad for a few minutes to get them to realize they need to make a change.
Speaker B:Yep, that's just the whole basic basic training thing in the military.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker C:You've got to strip away them out.
Speaker B:Of their reality and bring them into the true reality.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker C:You know, and, and what's going to work for the group and the team and, and all those things.
Speaker C:And, and so we have to real.
Speaker C:I'll tell you what the first step for an individual is.
Speaker C:You need to strip away your ideologies and you need to put those front and center and run those through the filter of scripture and through the filter of the power of the Holy Spirit and allow God to bring conviction to you.
Speaker C:That's the solution.
Speaker C:Because from there God works in you and starts to make those changes and he'll deconstruct these lies as a way to say it.
Speaker C:He'll strip those lies away and replace those with the truth.
Speaker C:And you have to replace it with something or you'll just abandon it and go to another lie.
Speaker C:You know, you can't just remove it, you've got to replace it with something.
Speaker C:So the key here is that the truth is being abandoned.
Speaker C:But Jesus warned us that this was going to happen.
Speaker C:And that's why if you go all the way down to verse 21 in Revelation chapter 3, it says, it talks about persevering, that those who persevere will be not only be Saved, but they will gain the right to sit at the right hand of God with Christ because Christ is going to sit there and you'll be with him.
Speaker C:In that position, you're basically being called a co heir to the throne with Christ because you are persevering and walking in his truth.
Speaker D:Amen.
Speaker D:Amen.
Speaker B:Where's Christ seated?
Speaker B:Right hand of the Father.
Speaker D:Amen.
Speaker B:With all the confusion, the division, the deceptions, what, what can believers and church leaders do to help reclaim their true identity in Christ before the end of the church age?
Speaker C:I'll tell you the first place to start, and I know this isn't a popular thing for a lot of people, Fast.
Speaker C:You know, fasting is such a big deal.
Speaker C:And then as you're fasting, get into the word of God.
Speaker C:I would say the first thing, get to the gospel, get to the heart of the gospel.
Speaker C:And number two, from there you need to be building a foundation of truth based on the word of God.
Speaker C:And you know, we have.
Speaker C:I will tell you, and I told you on the last show that I was just about done writing the second discipleship book.
Speaker C:Well, I'm now finished with that.
Speaker C:And so we're looking to get into editing phase and all that.
Speaker C:We have a discipleship plan for people.
Speaker C:And that discipleship plan involves to how to understand, to truly walk with, with Christ the way he called us to.
Speaker C:And there's the key to, to stripping away all the lies that you built around.
Speaker C:It's remembering who owns you.
Speaker C:Yeah, you don't own yourself.
Speaker C:You know a lot of look and, and I know a lot of your listeners here are probably trying to filter out where does this, like where, where does it start?
Speaker C:Kind of drawing it into its essence, its core.
Speaker C:It always comes back to one thing.
Speaker C:Who is in control here?
Speaker C:Who is the owner?
Speaker C:Who's the creator?
Speaker C:Who should this be coming from?
Speaker C:And the name is Christ.
Speaker C:It's really God.
Speaker C:But God turned that authority over to his Son Christ here on earth.
Speaker C:And so we have to buy everything from him.
Speaker C:Which is exactly how Revelation 3:18 starts.
Speaker C:Buy from me gold refined by fire.
Speaker C:And so, you know, and buy a white garment to cloak yourself, which is basically talking about walking in holiness, you know, and then eye salve to clear your eyes so you can clearly see.
Speaker C:And you're buying all that from Christ.
Speaker C:That means there's.
Speaker C:What he's telling you is in those days, there are going to be many truths, there are going to be many ways laid out, there's going to be many things, but there's only one that's going to matter.
Speaker C:The one that's going to stay, one that's going to be permanent and one that's going to secure you for eternity.
Speaker C:And that is through Jesus Christ.
Speaker C:There is no other way.
Speaker C:And so it's really stripping down that we need to surrender to the authority and the lordship that Christ is our king and we are his vessels and we need to stop making ourselves more than we are, quite frankly, in our human selves and realize that we get to walk with Christ because of Christ.
Speaker D:Yeah, Amen.
Speaker C:And that it belongs to him.
Speaker C:He gets the final say.
Speaker C:And it's.
Speaker C:And I say this all the time.
Speaker C:You really don't have rights.
Speaker C:You have a choice.
Speaker C:And you have a time frame here called your life to make that choice.
Speaker C:And it's going to go either way.
Speaker C:You know, Jesus said, you're either with me or you're against me.
Speaker C:And those who aren't with me are against me.
Speaker C:I didn't come to bring peace, but a sword.
Speaker C:What he's saying is, is I'm not giving you all these rights.
Speaker C:In this open area.
Speaker C:You have a choice.
Speaker C:And that's it.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:And.
Speaker B:And that is a big choice.
Speaker C:And it's.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I mean it's the choice of choices.
Speaker C:Just like he's the king of kings.
Speaker C:It's the choice of choices.
Speaker C:I mean he didn't call himself the way, the truth and the life.
Speaker C:So you would call him some great moral teacher.
Speaker C:Yeah, he doesn't leave that option open to you.
Speaker C:He's either a liar, a lunatic, or exactly what he claimed to be.
Speaker C:And that is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the King of the earth and the one who can save you and the only one who can save you.
Speaker C:Period.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker D:Amen.
Speaker B:Praise God.
Speaker B:You know, if someone has a question or they'd like more information how they, how can they get in touch with you?
Speaker C: ll, GCC, God Centered Concept: Speaker C:I'll probably still keep that just for people if they want to use it.
Speaker C:But we're, we're developing our own website and all that stuff.
Speaker C:So we're almost ready to full launch on that.
Speaker C:We're almost ready to.
Speaker D:Amen.
Speaker C:Take that thing off.
Speaker B:So waiting.
Speaker B:I've been waiting.
Speaker C:It's been a, it's been a process.
Speaker C:You know, it's the old theory.
Speaker C:Hey, it's going to take a week.
Speaker C:No, it takes you three weeks, you know, so there's always those little details.
Speaker B:It's going to take this much money and it takes three times as much money.
Speaker C:You know, I mean, it just.
Speaker C:And, and so every time we hit a snag, we have to work through that snag.
Speaker C:And, and we've hit several of them, but we're, we've worked through it.
Speaker C:The good news is, is now we've learned how to really, what we really need to do to run this versus just having the pie and sky ideas.
Speaker C:We, we understand the reality of it.
Speaker B:It's always boots on the ground that gets the job done.
Speaker C:It's, it is so true.
Speaker C:You know, planes aren't any good without pilots.
Speaker C:Guns aren't any good without soldiers.
Speaker C:I mean, you know, food isn't any good without trucks to ship it and drivers to drive the trucks.
Speaker D:So that's, I mean, amen.
Speaker D:Amen.
Speaker B:Well, folks, this conversation today has been both eye opening and timely.
Speaker D:Amen.
Speaker B:I mean, as we've discussed the identity crisis in the body of Christ, this isn't just a minor issue.
Speaker B:It's a prophetic sign of the times.
Speaker B:The church is at a crossroads and believers have to wake up to who they are in Christ before it's too late.
Speaker B:We can't afford to be passive and let the world try and define us.
Speaker B:It's time to return.
Speaker B:As Scott was mentioning the red letter words of Jesus.
Speaker B:It's time for us to stand firm in our faith and it's time for us to walk in the authority that he's given us.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:Scott, this has been a great discussion.
Speaker B:Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insights with us today, man.
Speaker B:I appreciate it and I can't wait to get you back on again.
Speaker B:Praise God.
Speaker C:I can't wait till the next episode, man.
Speaker C:We'll come in here and rattle the cages one more time.
Speaker D:Amen.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker B:Well, for those listening to us right now, if you found this conversation impactful, be sure to share it and leave a comment down below.
Speaker B:Connect with Scott all the contact information down in the show notes.
Speaker B:Until next time, this is Pastor Bauer and Scott Wright reminding you to be blessed in all that you do.
Speaker A:Thank you for listening to today's episode of the Kingdom Crossroads podcast.
Speaker A:Please subscribe to our podcast so you can be notified when another episode is published.
Speaker A: interviews and: Speaker A:Please visit our website@www.podcastersforchrist.com that web address again is www.podcastersforchrist.com.
Speaker A:for more information, until next time, be blessed in all that you do.
